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For the album see War to End All Wars (album).

World War I (originally known as The Great War before World War II) was at the time and in the years just after described as the "war to end all wars" (or, in the jargon of the French Poilus: "la der des ders", i.e. "the last of the last"). The phrase was in part a reaction to the horrors of the conflict with many believing that with the full cost of modern war so evident no nation would fight once again. It was partially an outgrowth of the original reasons for going to war seeming insignificant as the conflict dragged on, and the notion was adopted as an explanation for why continued sacrifice was needed. The notion of the conflict being a war to end all wars was also closely linked to the portrayal of Germany among the Allies; the country was seen as the heir of Prussian militarism, and a longtime warmonger. To end warfare, the defeat and destruction of this militaristic power in the centre of Europe was a necessity.

After the war a number of initiatives were taken to try to assert the promise. This included the formation of the League of Nations, the rewriting of the map of Europe, the Kellogg-Briand Pact outlawing war, and a number of other treaties limiting military power.

With the outbreak of World War II the phrase quickly began to be seen ironically. However, WWII, at least in Europe, would in some ways be "the war to end all wars", with the centuries of conflict between the great powers not having resumed since 1945, and the horrors of the Second World War having made the idea of a "World War III" something to be avoided at all costs; a variation of this theory is that the "war" would be a total war between big powers, so, after the World War II, the only wars will be little and limited. A last sarcastic idea is that a nuclear war would be the real "war to end all wars", because it could destroy mankind so that no more wars will be done.

More than 150 wars have been fought since the end of the war to end all wars.

In an episode of M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter remembers his fallen friends, one who died in "the war to end all wars," and one who died in "the war after that," while Hawkeye Pierce describes the Korean War as "the latest war to end all wars." Similarly, on Head of the Class, history teacher Mr. Moore tells the class they will conclude their study of World War I, the "war to end all wars", and begin their study of World War II, "the war to end that theory".

• The End of History and the Last Man, the notion that with the end of the Cold War battles between ideology were over
• War on Terrorism, another war against a military practice rather than a fixed enemy
• Democratic peace theory
• World War I
• War to End All Wars Board Game